History Main / TheRunningMan

* [[BrickJoke/Film Brick Joke]]: Killian's bodyguard Sven and steroids.

* [[Film/BrickJoke Brick Joke]]: Killian's bodyguard Sven and steroids.

* TheStinger: The show's announcer does a voiceover at the end of the credits.
* SmarmyHost: Damon Killian

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Dynamo uses electricity as his gimmick, so naturally he sings the aria from Act III of ''The Marriage of Figaro''.
** Also kind of a case of TheCastShowoff, since Erland van Lidth was actually singing in that scene. Presumably after he got cast, someone found out he could sing opera and decided they ''had'' to throw that in somewhere.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: '''CLAP IF YOU LOVE ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy8rT8oHCbI DYNAMO!!!]]''!!!!'''

* HilariousInHindsight: The fistfight between leotard-wearing Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger is much funnier, knowing that they have each since become U.S. Governors.

* SoBadItsGood

* SpiritualLicensee: The film has one in the form of the 2009 film ''[[{{Film/Gamer}} Gamer]]''.

* AssShove: Amber Mendez and the tape of the Bakersfield Massacre. Or possibly another nearby location.

--> '''Amber''': Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a lightbulb up his ass.

* VictoriasSecretCompartment: See AssShove.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Book version only when Ben Richards with his last ounce of strength flips the aeroplane into autopilot and crashes it into the Games Network skyscraper.]]
* {{Dystopia}}: Similar to the one seen in ''{{The Long Walk}}''.

** Also kind of a case of TheCastShowoff, since Erland van Lidth is actually an accomplished opera singer.

* ReleasedToElsewhere

* TheScapegoat: Richards [[spoiler:is blamed for the government-ordered massacre he tried to prevent]].

* WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture: The government [[spoiler:uses edited footage to frame Richards]]. Later, the producers [[spoiler:edit footage of Richards being killed in an attempt to salvage his victory over the Stalkers.]]

* WeWillUseMicrosInTheFuture: Apparently, wireframe computer graphics are state-of-the-art in 2019.

* [[spoiler:ManipulativeEditing]]

* AltumVidetur: The gratuitous use of Latin in Richards' contract.

* SpiritualLicensee: The film has one in the form of the 2009 film ''[[{{Film/Gamer}}]] Gamer''.

-->'''Richards''': ''"Want some coffee?"''
-->'''Donahue''': ''"No."''
-->'''Richards''': ''"Sure you do."'' [[spoiler:(''breaks Donahue's head open with the coffee maker'')]]

Ben Richards desperately requires money to get medicine for his [[LittlestCancerPatient ill daughter]], Cathy. To stop his wife Sheila from continuing to prostitute herself to pay the bills, Richards turns to the Games Federation, which runs several [[DeadlyGame TV game shows]]. Contestants win money by surviving challenges such as ''Treadmill to Bucks'', where a person with a heart or respiratory condition runs on a treadmill, or the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin self-explanatory]] ''Swim the Crocodiles''. After a rather embarrassing screening process, Ben is selected for the most popular game: ''The Running Man''.

He is given $4,800, and his family will win $100 for every hour he stays alive. If he survives for 30 days, he will win $1 Billion. He also gets 12 hours of advantage before the network throws the Hunters on him. He can travel anywhere in the world, and each day he must videotape two messages and courier them to the TV show. Without a videotaped message, he loses the prize money but the Hunters will continue their search. [[spoiler:Despite the producer's claims to the contrary, as soon as the Network receives a videotaped message, the Hunters immediately know from the postmark the runner's approximate location.]] When the runner is caught, he is killed live on TV.

The story, written by StephenKing under his PenName of "Richard Bachman", is better known for its [[TheMovie film version]] with ArnoldSchwarzenegger and [[Series/FamilyFeud Richard Dawson]], which [[InNameOnly turned the story]] into one of a BloodSport played by condemned criminals, and Richards' reason for entering the contest changes -- [[spoiler:he was framed for a massacre that he was actually trying to stop]].

!!The original novel provides examples of:
* {{Aesoptinium}}
* AntiHero: Richards isn't a paragon of morality; he is cynical and ready to kill if it will help him escape. He even notes that he spent most of his life not giving a single shit about anyone but himself or his immediate family.
* ButtMonkey: A lot of King's characters have the worst luck, ever.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:Richards driving a plane into the Games Federation building, while having his intestines on the floor '''and''' giving the Big Bad the finger.]]
* DeadlyGame: Pretty much the premise of the book.
* TheDragon: [=McCone=].
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Rare non-video game example. Everyone ''is'' trying to kill Richards.
* GovernmentConspiracy: Two, actually. [[spoiler:Not only is the game rigged, but the public and free TV is used to make people stay inside so they ignore the corporations polluting the air and won't revolt. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?]]
* HarsherInHindsight: The novel's ending is eerily evocative of [[spoiler:the 9/11 attacks, with a jet airplane being deliberately flown into a skyscraper. King even makes a point of noting that the plane's fuel tanks were full enough to create an explosion to destroy said building]].
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame
* InstantDeathBullet: Averted hard. Many people die, but very few people die quickly. Especially when shot.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Short-lived but powerful, after [[spoiler:Richards discovers his family is dead]].
* RunForTheBorder: Averted; he could leave the country, but the Hunters could follow.
* UnusualChapterNumbers: A countdown to the end.
* UpperClassTwit: Amelia, the hostage. Richards initially hates her for it, but that changes to pity as the game shuffles on.
* YankTheDogsChain: At the end, [[spoiler:Killian gives Richards the chance to become the new head of the Hunters, ''then'' tells him his wife and daughter are dead. Not a good time, man]].
* YourMoneyIsNoGoodHere: Old money is worth about a third or a quarter of what "New Dollars" are worth.

!!The film provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: Just before he's launched into the Zone, Richards promises that [[TheTerminator "I'll

* ActorAllusion: Just before he's launched into the Zone, Richards promises that [[TheTerminator "I'll be back."]] To say nothing of Richard Dawson's role as a [[Series/FamilyFeud game show host]].
* AdaptationDecay: All that's left is the name of the hero, the last name of the main villain, the name of the show involved and a couple of plot elements (the totalitarian [[{{Dystopia}} dystopic]] society and Richards kidnapping a woman and taking her to an airport).
* AllOrNothing
* AltumVidetur: The gratuitous use of Latin in Richards' contract.
* ArnoldSchwarzenegger: As the Hero.
* AssShove: Amber Mendez and the tape of the Bakersfield Massacre. Or possibly another nearby location.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Dynamo uses electricity as his gimmick, so naturally he sings the aria from Act III of ''The Marriage of Figaro''.
* BloodSport
* BondOneLiner: Some of the best in film history.
** (''cuts a man in half'') "He had to split."
** (''strangles a man with barbed wire'') "He was a pain in the neck."
** (''hurls road-flare at a guy with a loose gas-line'') "What a hothead."
* TheButcher: Ben Richards, "The Butcher of Bakersfield".
* CarnivalOfKillers
* CatchPhrase: What would an Arnie movie be without at least one utterance of "I'll be back"?
** With perhaps [[CrowningMomentOfFunny the best response]] given by Killian: "Only in a rerun."
* ChainsawGood: Buzzsaw.
* CondemnedContestant
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: '''CLAP IF YOU LOVE ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy8rT8oHCbI DYNAMO!!!]]''!!!!'''
* DoNotAdjustYourSet
* GaiasLament: Earth's resources are severely drained.
* GameShowHost: Killian. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] to a certain degree by being played by [[Series/FamilyFeud Richard Dawson]], who has been characterized at times as a bit of an egotist behind the scenes.
* GroinAttack: Multiple examples.
* HeroicSacrifice: Laughlin shoves Richards out of the way and is mortally wounded by Buzzsaw's attack.
* HeyItsThatGuy: [[PeeWeesBigAdventure Frances]]' butler, [[StirCrazy Grossberger]], and [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball Jim Brown]] all play Stalkers.
** [[LiveAndLetDie Mister Big]] plays Laughlin.
** Plus [[FleetwoodMac Mick Fleetwood]] as [[TheDanza rebel leader Mic]], and Dweezil Zappa as that one rebel guy.
* HilariousInHindsight: The fistfight between leotard-wearing Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger is much funnier, knowing that they have each since become U.S. Governors.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Each Stalker is killed with his own weapon. Killian himself is doomed by being launched into the Zone, as he had done to so many before.
* HomeGame: Given to members of the ''Running Man'' studio audience. How it's supposed to work is anybody's guess.
* IKnowMaddenKombat: The hockey-themed hunter "Sub-Zero".
* IronicEcho: Multiple examples involving Killian.
* JetPack: Used by the stalker Fireball.
* LargeHam: Dynamo. A fat man with blinking lights all over him driving after you in a go-kart while singing opera [[NightmareRetardant does not inspire fear.]] It's easy to say that while he's wearing pants...
* LightningGun: Dynamo's "Electrical Launcher".
* [[spoiler:ManipulativeEditing]]
* NotWorthKilling: "No, [[PetTheDog I won't kill a helpless human being...]][[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming not even sadistic scum...]][[CrowningMomentOfAwesome like you."]]
* ThePenIsMightier
* RedShirt
* ReleasedToElsewhere
* RidiculousFutureInflation: A can of pop costs $6, and the vending machines [[TechnologyMarchesOn don't accept bills]].
* RunForTheBorder: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] when Richards tries to flee to Hawaii, instead of trying to escape the country entirely.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Richards, when he refuses to fire on the unarmed crowd.
* ShowWithinAShow: The TV show.
* SoBadItsGood
* TheScapegoat: Richards [[spoiler:is blamed for the government-ordered massacre he tried to prevent]].
* SpiritualLicensee: The film has one in the form of the 2009 film ''Gamer''.
* Sven, Killian's bodyguard, exemplifies the following tropes:
** BodyguardBetrayal
** TheDogBitesBack
** TheDragon: Parodied and averted, with an IronicEcho to boot.
** ScrewThisImOuttaHere
* TheStinger: The show's announcer does a voiceover at the end of the credits.
* ThrowABarrelAtIt: Ben Richards does it to Fireball.
* TrashcanBonfire: The outdoor scenes with crowds betting on the game.
* WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture: The government [[spoiler:uses edited footage to frame Richards]]. Later, the producers [[spoiler:edit footage of Richards being killed in an attempt to salvage his victory over the Stalkers.]]
* WeWillUseMicrosInTheFuture: Apparently, wireframe computer graphics are state-of-the-art in 2019.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Dolph Lundgren and Christopher Reeve were both considered for the role of Ben Richards. Can you imagine Ivan Drago or Clark Kent taking a chainsaw to a guy's genitals?
* WhosLaughingNow: Awesomely thrown back in Dynamo's face by Amber, of all people.
--> '''Dynamo''':Thought it was pretty funny out in the zone, didn't you? What's the matter, bitch? Why aren't you laughing?
--> '''Amber''': Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a lightbulb up his ass.
* WinYourFreedom
* YourHeadASplode: Richards and his fellow prisoners in the military prison. If Chico had just waited 20 more seconds at the beginning of the movie...
----
!!Both the book and the film provide examples of:
* BigBad: Killian. Arguably the people as a whole, as it's their blood lust that Killian tries to satisfy in the first place. But then "the people" experience a HeelFaceTurn...
* {{Dystopia}}: Similar to the one seen in ''{{The Long Walk}}''.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
----
<<|{{Film}}|>>
<<|{{Literature}}|>>

* TheMostDangerousGame

* GameShowHost: Killian. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] to a certain degree by being played by [[Series/FamilyFeud Richard Dawson]], who has been characterized at times as a bit of an egotist behind the scenes. SoYeah.

* AntiHero: Richards isn't a paragon of morality; he is cynical and ready to kill if it will help him escape.

* HarsherInHindsight: The novel's ending is eerily evocative of [[spoiler:the 9/11 attacks, with a jet airplane being deliberately flown into a skyscraper. King even makes a point of noting that the plane's fuel tanks were full enough to create an explosion to destroy said building]].
* UnusualChapterNumbers

* YourMoneyIsNoGoodHere